This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2019/apr/30/brexit-latest-news-labour-nec-tory-mps-wont-accept-cross-party-compromise-involving-customs-union-says-hunt-live-news
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brexit: May wants cross-party talks to conclude before end of next week, government sources suggest – live news | Brexit: May wants cross-party talks to conclude before end of next week, government sources suggest – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Attendees at Labour’s national executive committee do seem to have regained access to their phones, because Tom Watson has posted a tweet, responding to a joke my colleague Heather Stewart made about this: | |
| Labour's NEC meeting appears to have run past four hours in a major row over Brexit https://t.co/FWh9FbeHPD pic.twitter.com/iTSpsKaV3S | |
| It’s the fact that Louise Haigh likes this tweet that hurts the most. | |
| The joke is inspired by the fact that the Mirror has illustrated its article with an old picture of Watson, taken before his remarkably successful recent diet. | |
| At the Change UK rally at lunchtime, Chuka Umunna, the former Labour MP, urged Labour members to vote for his new party because that might encourage Jeremy Corbyn to endorse remain. Accusing Labour of prevarication over Brexit, he said: | |
| Don’t endorse that prevarication. Vote for Change UK. | |
| Or at the very least, if you haven’t made up your mind what you will do at the next general election, lend us your vote in these European elections. | |
| The better we do, the more likely you are to see the Labour leadership adopt a people’s vote and remain position. | |
| But Change UK clearly did not coordinate their message very effectively because Mike Gapes, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman and another former Labour MP, said his old party would never back remain. He explained: | |
| Jeremy Corbyn and those he has appointed around him like [strategy and communications director Seumas Milne have never wanted to stop Brexit. | |
| Corbyn whipped Labour MPs to vote for article 50, he whipped Labour MPs not to support a people’s vote. | |
| Whatever contortions and forms of words they come up with today, it is clear that large, influential parts of the Labour leadership will not oppose Brexit. | |
| From my colleague Heather Stewart | From my colleague Heather Stewart |
| Michael Gove will respond to Jeremy Corbyn in tomorrow's Opposition Day debate on a climate change national emergency, I understand. Nice opportunity to show he could take the fight to Labour on issues other than Brexit...? | Michael Gove will respond to Jeremy Corbyn in tomorrow's Opposition Day debate on a climate change national emergency, I understand. Nice opportunity to show he could take the fight to Labour on issues other than Brexit...? |
| John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has said that Jeremy Hunt’s comment this morning about Tory MPs not accepting a customs union (see 9.21am) makes it harder for Labour to have confidence in the cross-party talks process. | John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has said that Jeremy Hunt’s comment this morning about Tory MPs not accepting a customs union (see 9.21am) makes it harder for Labour to have confidence in the cross-party talks process. |
| This is hardly a helpful or constructive intervention whilst we are in the middle of cross party talks to protect our economy & does not inspire confidence that if a deal is agreed it would be successfully entrenched and last any longer than the next Tory leadership election. https://t.co/BHspSQQx0q | This is hardly a helpful or constructive intervention whilst we are in the middle of cross party talks to protect our economy & does not inspire confidence that if a deal is agreed it would be successfully entrenched and last any longer than the next Tory leadership election. https://t.co/BHspSQQx0q |
| It is hard to know how much to read into this, but it is the sort of argument that you would expect one side to start making if they were looking for an excuse to wind up cross-party talks. | It is hard to know how much to read into this, but it is the sort of argument that you would expect one side to start making if they were looking for an excuse to wind up cross-party talks. |
| With the Labour party due to issue a new statement about its position on Brexit and a second referendum, it is worth summarising how this policy has evolved over the last two years. | With the Labour party due to issue a new statement about its position on Brexit and a second referendum, it is worth summarising how this policy has evolved over the last two years. |
| This is not as straightforward as it sounds. It is not unusual for political parties to resort to fudge when articulating policy so as to ensure that, on issues where opinion is divided, people can unite behind a compromise. A compromise does not have to be a fudge, but it does get fudgy if it involves key issues being left unresolved. | This is not as straightforward as it sounds. It is not unusual for political parties to resort to fudge when articulating policy so as to ensure that, on issues where opinion is divided, people can unite behind a compromise. A compromise does not have to be a fudge, but it does get fudgy if it involves key issues being left unresolved. |
| An extreme version of this is “constructive ambiguity” (a term used by the Blairites to describe some of the ploys required during the Northern Ireland peace process, but a phrase originally attributed to Henry Kissinger). Labour’s second referendum policy has, at times, been a textbook example of this, although more recently it has started to shift down the ambiguity/clarity axis towards something more specific. | An extreme version of this is “constructive ambiguity” (a term used by the Blairites to describe some of the ploys required during the Northern Ireland peace process, but a phrase originally attributed to Henry Kissinger). Labour’s second referendum policy has, at times, been a textbook example of this, although more recently it has started to shift down the ambiguity/clarity axis towards something more specific. |
| Here are the key three phases the policy has been through. | Here are the key three phases the policy has been through. |
| 1) From the referendum until the 2017 election and beyond: Accepting the result | 1) From the referendum until the 2017 election and beyond: Accepting the result |
| Jeremy Corbyn made it clear as soon as the referendum result was announced that Labour would accept it (which is partly why he made the much-criticised comment the morning after calling for article 50 to be triggered) and this was the party’s position in its 2017 manifesto (pdf). “Labour accepts the referendum result and a Labour government will put the national interest first,” the manifesto said. The only vague nudge in the direction of a second referendum was a call for parliament to get “a truly meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal”. | Jeremy Corbyn made it clear as soon as the referendum result was announced that Labour would accept it (which is partly why he made the much-criticised comment the morning after calling for article 50 to be triggered) and this was the party’s position in its 2017 manifesto (pdf). “Labour accepts the referendum result and a Labour government will put the national interest first,” the manifesto said. The only vague nudge in the direction of a second referendum was a call for parliament to get “a truly meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal”. |
| 2) Labour conference 2018: “All options on the table, including a public vote” | 2) Labour conference 2018: “All options on the table, including a public vote” |
| At the Labour conference in Liverpool the party overwhelmingly backed a long composite motion on Brexit agreed at an evening meeting where delegates representing different factions from the party contested the text for hours. The full motion is here, but this is the key paragraph. | At the Labour conference in Liverpool the party overwhelmingly backed a long composite motion on Brexit agreed at an evening meeting where delegates representing different factions from the party contested the text for hours. The full motion is here, but this is the key paragraph. |
| If we cannot get a general election Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote. If the government is confident in negotiating a deal that working people, our economy and communities will benefit from they should not be afraid to put that deal to the public. | If we cannot get a general election Labour must support all options remaining on the table, including campaigning for a public vote. If the government is confident in negotiating a deal that working people, our economy and communities will benefit from they should not be afraid to put that deal to the public. |
| For supporters of a second referendum, this was an important advance; Labour was now accepting a public vote (ie, a referendum) as an option. | For supporters of a second referendum, this was an important advance; Labour was now accepting a public vote (ie, a referendum) as an option. |
| But for opponents of a second referendum, nothing of substance had been conceded. The motion did not even mention a referendum (at one point “public vote” was taken in this debate to include a possible general election, although in the context of the motion it means referendum, because it refers to what might happen if a general election does not happen). And keeping “all options on the table” effectively means not having any actual policy at all - although the phrase had the advantage of sounding plausible when deployed in interviews. | But for opponents of a second referendum, nothing of substance had been conceded. The motion did not even mention a referendum (at one point “public vote” was taken in this debate to include a possible general election, although in the context of the motion it means referendum, because it refers to what might happen if a general election does not happen). And keeping “all options on the table” effectively means not having any actual policy at all - although the phrase had the advantage of sounding plausible when deployed in interviews. |
| The full extent of the ambiguity in play became apparent at the conference when different Labour figures gave different versions of what a “public vote” might involve. Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, received wild applause during his speech when he ad-libbed a line not cleared by Corbyn’s office saying: “Nobody is ruling out remain as an option.” | The full extent of the ambiguity in play became apparent at the conference when different Labour figures gave different versions of what a “public vote” might involve. Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, received wild applause during his speech when he ad-libbed a line not cleared by Corbyn’s office saying: “Nobody is ruling out remain as an option.” |
| But that was not true. Two days earlier Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, said that if there were to be a second referendum, remain should not be an option. After conference some Corbynites occasionally argued that this would be a plausible reading of the “public vote” pledge, but the Starmer interpretation was more widely accepted. | But that was not true. Two days earlier Len McCluskey, the Unite general secretary, said that if there were to be a second referendum, remain should not be an option. After conference some Corbynites occasionally argued that this would be a plausible reading of the “public vote” pledge, but the Starmer interpretation was more widely accepted. |
| 3) Early 2019: Qualified support for second referendum | 3) Early 2019: Qualified support for second referendum |
| Since January there have been more than a dozen Commons votes on either Theresa May’s deal, or on motions relating to the Brexit process. As these debates have progressed, Labour has firmed up its support for a second referendum, although with considerable qualifications. | Since January there have been more than a dozen Commons votes on either Theresa May’s deal, or on motions relating to the Brexit process. As these debates have progressed, Labour has firmed up its support for a second referendum, although with considerable qualifications. |
| Broadly the party has arrived at a position where it backs a second referendum, but only to avoid a “damaging” Tory Brexit or no-deal, although sometimes it has voted for motions that go beyond this. | Broadly the party has arrived at a position where it backs a second referendum, but only to avoid a “damaging” Tory Brexit or no-deal, although sometimes it has voted for motions that go beyond this. |
| The first big shift came on 29 January when Labour tabled a motion saying the government should allow MPs to vote on Brexit options, and that those options should include “legislating to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition that has commanded the support of the majority of the House of Commons.” The party did not specifically say it would support such a public vote, although this was implied. | The first big shift came on 29 January when Labour tabled a motion saying the government should allow MPs to vote on Brexit options, and that those options should include “legislating to hold a public vote on a deal or a proposition that has commanded the support of the majority of the House of Commons.” The party did not specifically say it would support such a public vote, although this was implied. |
| A further shift came in February when the party said, if MPs voted down Labour’s Brexit plan, the party would default to backing a second referendum. On 27 February Labour’s plan was rejected by MPs, and Corbyn then responded by saying: | A further shift came in February when the party said, if MPs voted down Labour’s Brexit plan, the party would default to backing a second referendum. On 27 February Labour’s plan was rejected by MPs, and Corbyn then responded by saying: |
| We will back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no deal outcome. | We will back a public vote in order to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or a disastrous no deal outcome. |
| Then, at the end of March, came the first of two indicative votes debates that saw MPs voting on motions tabled by Dame Margaret Beckett and Peter Kyle saying any Brexit deal passed during this parliament should be subject to a confirmatory referendum. The motions were identical, and they said: | Then, at the end of March, came the first of two indicative votes debates that saw MPs voting on motions tabled by Dame Margaret Beckett and Peter Kyle saying any Brexit deal passed during this parliament should be subject to a confirmatory referendum. The motions were identical, and they said: |
| That this House will not allow in this parliament the implementation and ratification of any withdrawal agreement and any framework for the future relationship unless and until they have been approved by the people of the United Kingdom in a confirmatory public vote. | That this House will not allow in this parliament the implementation and ratification of any withdrawal agreement and any framework for the future relationship unless and until they have been approved by the people of the United Kingdom in a confirmatory public vote. |
| Labour whipped its MPs to support them both. But, before the first vote, Corbyn sent a letter to MPs saying the party was supporting the motion even though it did not fully support it. He said: | Labour whipped its MPs to support them both. But, before the first vote, Corbyn sent a letter to MPs saying the party was supporting the motion even though it did not fully support it. He said: |
| Our conference agreed that if we cannot get a general election we would support all options remaining on the table, including a public vote. Labour is supporting the Beckett-Kyle-Wilson amendment (even where it can be read as going beyond our policy) to keep the option of a public vote on the table in order to stop a disastrous no deal or May’s unacceptable deal. | Our conference agreed that if we cannot get a general election we would support all options remaining on the table, including a public vote. Labour is supporting the Beckett-Kyle-Wilson amendment (even where it can be read as going beyond our policy) to keep the option of a public vote on the table in order to stop a disastrous no deal or May’s unacceptable deal. |
| Labour’s priority is to deliver our credible Brexit plan which respects our commitment to accept the result of the referendum. Today we are are supporting all options that enable us to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or no-deal being forced on the country. | Labour’s priority is to deliver our credible Brexit plan which respects our commitment to accept the result of the referendum. Today we are are supporting all options that enable us to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit or no-deal being forced on the country. |
| Today’s NEC meeting is expected to agree a new version of this. | Today’s NEC meeting is expected to agree a new version of this. |
| But, as Tom Watson’s intervention earlier made clear, Corbyn is under pressure to expand the commitment. The main demand is for the party to commit to putting any Brexit deal to a referendum, not just a “damaging” Tory one, or no-deal. But implicit in this is also a demand for the party to agree that, even after a general election, it would remain committed to a second referendum. The Beckett/Kyle amendment just covers “this parliament”, ie before a general election. | But, as Tom Watson’s intervention earlier made clear, Corbyn is under pressure to expand the commitment. The main demand is for the party to commit to putting any Brexit deal to a referendum, not just a “damaging” Tory one, or no-deal. But implicit in this is also a demand for the party to agree that, even after a general election, it would remain committed to a second referendum. The Beckett/Kyle amendment just covers “this parliament”, ie before a general election. |
| Extinction Rebellion has released a statement following its meeting with John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, this morning. Sue Hayman, the shadow environment secretary, was also there, and the XR team also briefly met Jeremy Corbyn. Tomorrow Labour is using one of its opposition days to call for climate change to be declared a national emergency. | Extinction Rebellion has released a statement following its meeting with John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, this morning. Sue Hayman, the shadow environment secretary, was also there, and the XR team also briefly met Jeremy Corbyn. Tomorrow Labour is using one of its opposition days to call for climate change to be declared a national emergency. |
| In it statement XR said: | In it statement XR said: |
| Crucially, [the Labour politicians] acknowledged the failure of previous Labour party policies to meeting the challenges we face, and have committed to the following: | Crucially, [the Labour politicians] acknowledged the failure of previous Labour party policies to meeting the challenges we face, and have committed to the following: |
| John McDonnell will request that Extinction Rebellion present its case to the entire shadow cabinet on the climate and ecological emergency. He has also committed to presentations from us to the shadow environment committee and the shadow Treasury team. | John McDonnell will request that Extinction Rebellion present its case to the entire shadow cabinet on the climate and ecological emergency. He has also committed to presentations from us to the shadow environment committee and the shadow Treasury team. |
| However, John McDonnell did not commit to changing the proposed date in the Labour party motion which currently aims to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, although he said will consider a new target of 2030. We also raised this with Jeremy Corbyn ahead of the debate tomorrow in the House of Commons. | However, John McDonnell did not commit to changing the proposed date in the Labour party motion which currently aims to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, although he said will consider a new target of 2030. We also raised this with Jeremy Corbyn ahead of the debate tomorrow in the House of Commons. |
| We’re glad that John McDonnell listened to the urgency of our demands but we need our politicians to be more ambitious. Our children’s future is on the line. The international rebellion will continue until politicians prove they are willing to act on all three of our demands. | We’re glad that John McDonnell listened to the urgency of our demands but we need our politicians to be more ambitious. Our children’s future is on the line. The international rebellion will continue until politicians prove they are willing to act on all three of our demands. |
| We wait to see if the Labour party will act with the courage and determination needed in this moment. | We wait to see if the Labour party will act with the courage and determination needed in this moment. |
| The Conservatives are heading for fourth place in the European elections in London, a poll for the Evening Standard suggests. In their story Joe Murphy and Nicholas Cecil report: | The Conservatives are heading for fourth place in the European elections in London, a poll for the Evening Standard suggests. In their story Joe Murphy and Nicholas Cecil report: |
| A shock YouGov poll found Theresa May’s party limping on just 11% in the capital — half of the 22% share they enjoyed in 2014 when they came a respectable second. | A shock YouGov poll found Theresa May’s party limping on just 11% in the capital — half of the 22% share they enjoyed in 2014 when they came a respectable second. |
| Embarrassingly, they are six points behind Change UK, which is on 17% despite only being launched as a party a few weeks ago. And Mr Farage’s newly formed anti-EU party is further ahead on 19. | Embarrassingly, they are six points behind Change UK, which is on 17% despite only being launched as a party a few weeks ago. And Mr Farage’s newly formed anti-EU party is further ahead on 19. |
| A drubbing on that scale would increase the likelihood that Tories will try to oust Mrs May after the results of the election on May 23 ... | A drubbing on that scale would increase the likelihood that Tories will try to oust Mrs May after the results of the election on May 23 ... |
| Labour is in first place in London, but its 28% share is drastically down from the 36.6% they took in 2014. | Labour is in first place in London, but its 28% share is drastically down from the 36.6% they took in 2014. |
| The prime minister’s spokesman gave Downing Street’s latest assessment of progress in the cross-party Brexit talks at today’s morning lobby briefing. He said: | The prime minister’s spokesman gave Downing Street’s latest assessment of progress in the cross-party Brexit talks at today’s morning lobby briefing. He said: |
| Cabinet received an update on the Brexit talks with the opposition, including the negotiations last night, which were serious and constructive. Further talks will now be scheduled in order to bring the process toward a conclusion. | Cabinet received an update on the Brexit talks with the opposition, including the negotiations last night, which were serious and constructive. Further talks will now be scheduled in order to bring the process toward a conclusion. |
| Cabinet also discussed the need to secure safe passage for the withdrawal agreement bill, or WAB, as soon as possible, in order to deliver upon the result of the referendum. | Cabinet also discussed the need to secure safe passage for the withdrawal agreement bill, or WAB, as soon as possible, in order to deliver upon the result of the referendum. |
| David Lidington gave an update on the talks; while the chief whip, Julian Smith, talked about the prospects for the WAB. | David Lidington gave an update on the talks; while the chief whip, Julian Smith, talked about the prospects for the WAB. |
| Several members of the cabinet are known to be sceptical about the value of discussions with Labour, and government sources are now making clear that they will make a judgement by the middle of next week about whether the process is worth continuing with. | Several members of the cabinet are known to be sceptical about the value of discussions with Labour, and government sources are now making clear that they will make a judgement by the middle of next week about whether the process is worth continuing with. |
| Any cross-party deal would be aimed at securing a majority for the WAB. If that fails, alternatives include seeking agreement on some parliamentary process that could yield a decisive outcome - unlike the two rounds of indicative votes already held. | Any cross-party deal would be aimed at securing a majority for the WAB. If that fails, alternatives include seeking agreement on some parliamentary process that could yield a decisive outcome - unlike the two rounds of indicative votes already held. |
| This is from my colleague Heather Stewart, who has just come out of the Downing Street lobby briefing. | This is from my colleague Heather Stewart, who has just come out of the Downing Street lobby briefing. |
| Brexit mood music watch: last night’s talks were “serious and constructive,” says Theresa May’s spox - but government sources say Cabinet is clear the process needs to reach a conclusion, one way or another, within the next week or so. | Brexit mood music watch: last night’s talks were “serious and constructive,” says Theresa May’s spox - but government sources say Cabinet is clear the process needs to reach a conclusion, one way or another, within the next week or so. |
| Jeremy Corbyn is at the meeting of Labour’s NEC. But, according to the Press Association, he did not enter the building through the main entrance where media and demonstrators had gathered, and so he was not photographed going in. | Jeremy Corbyn is at the meeting of Labour’s NEC. But, according to the Press Association, he did not enter the building through the main entrance where media and demonstrators had gathered, and so he was not photographed going in. |
| Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, renewed his call for the party to back a referendum on any Brexit deal as he arrived at the Labour national executive committee meeting. He said: | Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, renewed his call for the party to back a referendum on any Brexit deal as he arrived at the Labour national executive committee meeting. He said: |
| In the last few days most of my colleagues on the NEC have been inundated with thousands of emails from Labour members who are saying that Labour voters recognise the parliamentary failure and they think that the only way to break this impasse is a people’s vote on any deal that parliament can agree. We have to listen to members, we have to listen to our European parliamentary candidates who support this, but there will be a debate at the shadow cabinet and the NEC - we’ll see what comes out of it. | In the last few days most of my colleagues on the NEC have been inundated with thousands of emails from Labour members who are saying that Labour voters recognise the parliamentary failure and they think that the only way to break this impasse is a people’s vote on any deal that parliament can agree. We have to listen to members, we have to listen to our European parliamentary candidates who support this, but there will be a debate at the shadow cabinet and the NEC - we’ll see what comes out of it. |
| "Most of my colleagues on the NEC have been inundated with thousands of emails" on #Brexit, says Labour's Deputy Leader Tom Watson, "we've got to listen to the members"https://t.co/OEuik8XjpP pic.twitter.com/EIcBjSiDtF | "Most of my colleagues on the NEC have been inundated with thousands of emails" on #Brexit, says Labour's Deputy Leader Tom Watson, "we've got to listen to the members"https://t.co/OEuik8XjpP pic.twitter.com/EIcBjSiDtF |
| More from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh on Labour’s NEC meeting. | More from HuffPost’s Paul Waugh on Labour’s NEC meeting. |
| One NEC member tells me today's meeting could be shorter than many had expected. Could be 3 or 4 hours, rather than a marathon of 6 or 8hrs. #itsallrelative | One NEC member tells me today's meeting could be shorter than many had expected. Could be 3 or 4 hours, rather than a marathon of 6 or 8hrs. #itsallrelative |
| I'm told there are at least 4 absentees from NEC but that's all accounted for in the number crunching by leader's office. That's why they're confident of their minimum of 22 votes backing Corbyn line.https://t.co/9j9YKo8IJi | I'm told there are at least 4 absentees from NEC but that's all accounted for in the number crunching by leader's office. That's why they're confident of their minimum of 22 votes backing Corbyn line.https://t.co/9j9YKo8IJi |